HBA-EDN C.S.H.B. 2192 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2192
By: Hinojosa
Criminal Jurisprudence
4/18/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, a person seeking a bail bond license (license) is not
required to have had any experience in the bail bond business or to have
completed continuing legal education in bail bond or criminal law. Having
such an eligibility requirement for a license would help ensure that
persons entering the bail bond business have a genuine intent of operating
legally and would also decrease the number of bonds written with poor risk
factors, which may be a cause of a defendant's failure to appear in court.
There is also concern that counties do not have enough oversight over a
license holder's solvency and that the current license application process
does not differentiate enough between the process for property bondsmen and
for agents who write bonds on behalf of a corporation.  Finally, automatic
bond-dispensing machines, as found in jails or courthouses in some states,
have caused concern because they allow a defendant to purchase a bond
without having a bondsman responsible for the defendant while free on bail.
C.S.H.B. 2192 modifies provisions relating to licensing requirements for
bail bond sureties to address these needs. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2192 amends the Occupations Code to modify provisions relating to
licensing requirements for a bail bond surety.  The bill stipulates that an
individual who is acting only as an agent for a corporation holding a
license for a bail bond surety (license) is not required to possess the
financial resources necessary to comply with security requirements.  The
bill also includes as an eligibility requirement for a license that an
individual, in the two years preceding the date a license application
(application) is filed, must have at least one year of continuous work
experience in the bail bond business and have completed at least eight
hours of continuing legal education in criminal or bail bond law courses
that are approved by the State Bar of Texas and that are offered by an
accredited institution of higher education.  The bill provides that this
requirement does not apply to the issuance of an original license in a
county before the first anniversary of the date a county bail bond board
(board) is created in the county or to an individual who applies to operate
the bail bond business of a license holder who has died if the individual
is related to the decedent within the first degree by consanguinity or is
the decedent's surviving spouse (Sec. 1704.152).   

C.S.H.B. 2192 provides that an application for a license of a corporation
or an individual must include the amount of cash or the cash value of a
certificate of deposit or cashier's check that the applicant intends to
deposit with the county treasurer if the application is approved, or if the
applicant is an individual intending to execute nonexempt real property in
trust to the board, the value of the real property.  The bill provides that
an application for an applicant who is or has been licensed in another
county must be accompanied by a list of each county in which the applicant
holds a license and a statement that as of the application date the
applicant has no unpaid final judgments of forfeiture against the applicant
in any county in which the applicant holds or has held a license, and if
the applicant is a corporation, a statement by the designated agent of any
unpaid final judgments of forfeiture on any bond executed by the agent.
The bill prohibits the existence of an unpaid final judgment disclosed by
the designated agent of a corporation from barring  licensure, but
authorizes the disclosure of such judgment to be considered by the board in
determining whether to grant a license to a corporation with that agent.
The bill deletes the requirement for a corporation to provide an
irrevocable letter of credit to the sheriff to pay any final judgment of a
forfeiture on a bond on receipt of notice that an application has been
conditionally approved and deletes provisions prohibiting a deposit or the
total value of property executed in trust from being less than $10,000 in a
county with a population of less than 250,000. The bill also provides that
a corporation must file a separate corporate application for each agent the
corporation designates in the county (Secs. 1704.154 and 1704.160). 

C.S.H.B. 2192 prohibits an attorney from executing a bail bond if the
board, rather than a sheriff, determines that the attorney has engaged in
conduct that would subject a bail bond surety to license revocation (Sec.
1704.163).   

C.S.H.B. 2192 deletes provisions authorizing an agent of the board of the
county in which the bond was executed to contest the surrender of the
principal upon determining that a reason for the surrender was without
reasonable cause (Sec. 1704.207).   

C.S.H.B. 2192 authorizes a corporation to limit the authority of an agent
designated to execute bail bonds on behalf of the corporation by specifying
the limitation in the power of attorney that is filed with the county clerk
and the board (Sec. 1704.211).   

C.S.H.B. 2192 prohibits a person from advertising as a bail bond surety in
a county unless the person holds a license by a board in that county.  The
bill increases the punishment from a Class C to a Class B misdemeanor for a
violation of these provisions, but provides that a person does not violate
these provisions if the person places an advertisement that appears in more
than one county, and the advertisement clearly indicates the county or
counties in which the person holds a license and any local telephone number
in the advertisement is a local number only for a county in which the
person holds a license (Sec. 1704.303).   

C.S.H.B. 2192 prohibits a person from placing a device in a place of
detention, confinement, or imprisonment, that dispenses a bail bond in
exchange for a fee (Sec. 1704.304).   

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001. 

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2192 modifies the original by authorizing a county bail bond board
(board), by rule, to regulate solicitations or advertisements by or on
behalf of license holders to protect the public from harassment, fraud, or
misrepresentation (Sec. 1704.109).  The substitute provides that an
application  for a license of an applicant intending to execute nonexempt
real property in trust must state the value of the real property. The
substitute provides that an application of a corporation must be
accompanied by a statement by the designated agent of any unpaid final
judgments of forfeiture on any bond executed by the agent.  The substitute
prohibits the existence of an unpaid final judgment disclosed by the
designated agent of a corporation from barring licensure, but authorizes
the disclosure of such judgment to be considered by the board in
determining whether to grant a license to a corporation with that agent
(Sec. 1704.154).   

The substitute stipulates that an applicant must meet certain conditions on
receipt of notice of conditional approval of the application not later than
the 90th day after the date notice is received (Sec. 1704.160). The
substitute removes provisions regarding an application for renewal and
prohibiting an attorney from executing a bond if the total amount of all
outstanding bonds executed by the attorney exceeds $250,000 (Secs. 1704.162
and 1704.163).  The substitute authorizes an attorney representing the
state or an accused in the case to contest the surrender of the principal
upon  determination that a reason for the surrender was without reasonable
cause, whereas the original deleted this authorization (Sec. 1704.207).
The substitute reinstates provisions regarding the effect of default on
bail bonds by a corporation and provides that a  corporation is considered
in default beginning on the 11th day after the date the court enters a
final judgment and ending on the date the judgment is satisfied, set aside,
or superseded (Sec. 1704.212).  The substitute sets forth provisions
regarding the office location of a license holder and prohibits a person
from accepting or receiving from a license holder anything of value as
payment for employment within a bonding business if, within the preceding
10 years, the person has been convicted of a felony or of a misdemeanor
involving moral turpitude (Secs. 1704.213 and 1704.302).  The substitute
prohibits a person from advertising as a bail bond surety in a county
unless the person holds a license by a board in that county, but provides
that a person does not violate this provision if the person places an
advertisement that appears in more than one county, and the advertisement
clearly indicates the county or counties in which the person holds a
license and any local telephone number in the advertisement is a local
number only for a county in which the person holds a license (Sec.
1704.303).